tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55258352162700639152024-03-13T08:27:01.020-04:00Jolley CorpsObligatory Legal Fine Print: This blog is not intended to reflect the policies and opinions of the Peace Corps.L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.comBlogger158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-77603891036485006232012-09-10T18:48:00.001-04:002012-09-18T08:25:46.344-04:00Tucker has a New Mommy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So a few weeks ago I put the following advertisement in the Peace Corps Facebook group.<br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18.883333206176758px;">"1.5 year old dog looking for a new home. I’m COSing in September and looking for a new home for my little pal Tucker. I found him on the street, in the rain, when he was 2 months old and just couldn't turn away from his pound puppy eyes.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18.883333206176758px;">He is about 1.5 years old, still a lot of puppy in him, but he will be a great dog. He weighs about 28 lbs and is about 18inches tall to his shoulder.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18.883333206176758px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18.883333206176758px;">He is neutered, house broken, knows basic commands and has many other special skills.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18.883333206176758px;">He is an expert bug hunter (specializing in cicadas), does an uncanny Tigger impression, loves long walks (beach not required), and is endlessly useful for cleaning dishes and cuddling during cold winters. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18.883333206176758px;">So if you find yourself hankering for a four-legged companion, but don’t want to or know how to care for a puppy, give me a call. I’m sure Tucker would be quite happy to be your friend."</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.883333206176758px;">At first it looked like no one wanted him, especially since no one responded after I posted the advert again. I was able find a Paraguayan friend, Carmen, who said she would be willing to take him, but I really wanted to find a volunteer to adopt him since he has some very american habits, such as sleeping in the bed with me. I was dismayed I couldn't find even one person who truly wanted him. Thankfully at a recent VAC meeting, I was able to </span><span style="line-height: 18.866666793823242px;">immediately</span><span style="line-height: 18.883333206176758px;"> find Tucker a very enthusiastic new mommy named </span><span style="line-height: 18.866666793823242px;">Virginia. Heck a second volunteer also asked to adopt him. Finally, people who realized a catch when they saw one.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.883333206176758px;">Tonight is Tucker's last night here, Peace Corps is sending a vehicle to pick up the office supplies from my house, and we're catching a ride in the truck to Capucu to be with Virginia. She is a new volunteer so at the very least, I can rest assured Tucker will have two more solid years of nortetime.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.883333206176758px;">In celebration of our time together here are some of my favorite Tucker pictures.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FEm3JhCPQLE/UE5r2CocO0I/AAAAAAAAAaY/U6Pz2k5LxTA/s1600/100_0511.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FEm3JhCPQLE/UE5r2CocO0I/AAAAAAAAAaY/U6Pz2k5LxTA/s320/100_0511.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Dinner time at the zoo.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7WnkJr-NC8k/UE5sPTRpV_I/AAAAAAAAAag/LfxC1gnfmBA/s1600/100_0520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7WnkJr-NC8k/UE5sPTRpV_I/AAAAAAAAAag/LfxC1gnfmBA/s320/100_0520.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Puppy love</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FlLxngTlGuc/UE5kjaWbheI/AAAAAAAAAZc/kSycBnalEnU/s1600/Tucker+Lila+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FlLxngTlGuc/UE5kjaWbheI/AAAAAAAAAZc/kSycBnalEnU/s320/Tucker+Lila+2.JPG" width="320" /></a>
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Bunnysitting...Am I doing it right?
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jyHy6MNiW8U/UE5kmfo6krI/AAAAAAAAAZk/3zh1vz7NfgQ/s1600/Tucker+mop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jyHy6MNiW8U/UE5kmfo6krI/AAAAAAAAAZk/3zh1vz7NfgQ/s320/Tucker+mop.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Oh I'm sorry, were you going to use this?</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vnb2L0l1wYQ/UE5kp_UhaAI/AAAAAAAAAZs/Y8oakeBOsFI/s1600/Window+Tucker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vnb2L0l1wYQ/UE5kp_UhaAI/AAAAAAAAAZs/Y8oakeBOsFI/s320/Window+Tucker.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Pound Puppy eyes activate!</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6zjwckUjRfc/UE5jgSxetWI/AAAAAAAAAZM/hkUnSgbdtHE/s1600/100_0832.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6zjwckUjRfc/UE5jgSxetWI/AAAAAAAAAZM/hkUnSgbdtHE/s320/100_0832.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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'Morning!</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bcsbh-CsLYI/UE5ikmf1tbI/AAAAAAAAAY8/vCIezxi4854/s1600/100_1025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bcsbh-CsLYI/UE5ikmf1tbI/AAAAAAAAAY8/vCIezxi4854/s320/100_1025.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Sitting on the step</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zt3WgeKlv2U/UE5jCRsesaI/AAAAAAAAAZE/HHVHWZvyfVc/s1600/100_0831.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zt3WgeKlv2U/UE5jCRsesaI/AAAAAAAAAZE/HHVHWZvyfVc/s320/100_0831.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Too early, back to bed</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GcUJOOTjGo4/UE5kDRSg1UI/AAAAAAAAAZU/lrPkxuOmgo4/s1600/100_0857.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GcUJOOTjGo4/UE5kDRSg1UI/AAAAAAAAAZU/lrPkxuOmgo4/s320/100_0857.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's cold</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OWMHn08-M8Q/UE5iDEKizpI/AAAAAAAAAY0/xtdv6u1IpAI/s1600/100_1017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OWMHn08-M8Q/UE5iDEKizpI/AAAAAAAAAY0/xtdv6u1IpAI/s320/100_1017.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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HAPPPY!!!</div>
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Happy featuring Penguin!
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I did my best to avoid getting pets in Peace Corps, and failed miserably in that effort. Having Lila stolen and having to give Tucker away is heartbreaking, but I have so many good memories of the both of them, that it's been absolutely worth it. At least I know Tucker is going to a great home with someone who is incredibly excited to have him and will give him lots of love. </div>
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Who knows, maybe if Tucker is a really good dog he'll even convince Virginia to take him back to the states with her. Maybe if I'm really lucky too, I'll get to see him again. Good luck on your next adventure Senor Tuck Tuck. You have been loved; you will be missed.</div>
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Followup- Tucker with Virginia (fellow Peace Corps volunteer in Capucu), his new mommy</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SmTW1Y74YH8/UFhnaiDlVmI/AAAAAAAAAbE/UvuxB1Vmiyk/s1600/100_1048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SmTW1Y74YH8/UFhnaiDlVmI/AAAAAAAAAbE/UvuxB1Vmiyk/s320/100_1048.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Tucker in the car on the way to Virginia's House. He is resting his head on my shoulder per usual when he is in my lap</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Eq0vlXAPIgI/UFhneer0K4I/AAAAAAAAAbM/S_DFUOrrdgA/s1600/New+Home+with+Virginia+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Eq0vlXAPIgI/UFhneer0K4I/AAAAAAAAAbM/S_DFUOrrdgA/s320/New+Home+with+Virginia+(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Virginia gave him a bath. Time to roll around in the grass</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jqca82gxoRg/UFhnfDCKVSI/AAAAAAAAAbU/dXy2-br79F8/s1600/New+Home+with+Virginia+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jqca82gxoRg/UFhnfDCKVSI/AAAAAAAAAbU/dXy2-br79F8/s320/New+Home+with+Virginia+(2).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Virginia walking with Tuck</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AeVEsQAdj_U/UFhnhTqrr6I/AAAAAAAAAbk/s39fWKvOyJo/s1600/New+Home+with+Virginia+(4).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AeVEsQAdj_U/UFhnhTqrr6I/AAAAAAAAAbk/s39fWKvOyJo/s320/New+Home+with+Virginia+(4).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Tuck with new family member Karina</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6lreGRahbgM/UFhng-jAvvI/AAAAAAAAAbc/JfvcYiwv4U0/s1600/New+Home+with+Virginia+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6lreGRahbgM/UFhng-jAvvI/AAAAAAAAAbc/JfvcYiwv4U0/s320/New+Home+with+Virginia+(3).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Sleeping on the bed. So gentlemanly </div>
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L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-57617326806846268032012-07-20T09:59:00.001-04:002012-07-20T10:11:31.868-04:00Closing Time: So how's the weather down there? ...Enjoy Your Summer; I'll just sit here in my parka.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Winter #1-2009<br />
In Training- J. Agosto Saldivar<br />
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Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh so cold and wet. Its always hot in Paraguay right? What a cruel joke. Misery ensues. Showers are dreaded. I go into the bathroom fully clothed, boots and all, shower in a tiny dribble of warm water and then slip my arms into the sleeves of my three jackets in one smooth motion since they now fit together like one giant jacket. Showers become infrequent and are taken mostly to show the host family I’m not an unhygienic person. </div>
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What am I wearing? Its been so long since I’ve take my clothes off I don’t remember. Business Casual dress code in training? Very funny, I'll just keep wearing my pajama shirt because I’m not going to take off my megajacket anyway. Popcorn and mandarins for a snack during class are a sanity saver.</div>
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Winter #2-2010<br />
In Campo 9<br />
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In site, in my own house, with a space heater, and water bottle and two sleeping bags. Ok I can handle this. I want to go to bed at 7pm, but try to stay up until 8-9pm, wake up at 10am when it starts to warm up. Showers meh, ever 2-3days.</div>
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Winter #3-2011 and #4-2012<br />
In San Ignacio<br />
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Winter, you are my bitch. I've got this shit down. Rarely use the space heater, two water bottles, exercise at night to warm up my feet before bed. Shower almost every night after exercising. Bring it!</div>
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Summer #1- 2010<br />
In Campo 9<br />
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Little uncomfortable at the host familys house since my room gets super hot, but I don’t see what all of the fuss is about. Siesta time- best time to be out and about walking around without being harassed since there is no one on the street. Adopt my trademark style of wide brimmed hat o senora style umbrella for shade whenever walking around and the sun is up.</div>
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Summer #2-2011<br />
In Campo 9<br />
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Easy peasy. I’m in my own house that faces east and is almost completely covered by shade due to large trees on the westside of the house. The dust is annoying, but I don’t care anymore. Living la vida sweaty and dusty. Ok this siesta thing is pretty cool. Lets all just take it easy and chill out.</div>
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Summer #3 2012<br />
In San Ignacio<br />
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DYYYYYYYYing. Oh My God Help Me I’m EFFING MELTING!!!! Partially nocturnal: wake up at 11am or noon, 1pm if I’m lucky. Start off at the hottest part of the day and it only gets cooler. Bedtime around 2-4am. </div>
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No water inside the house after New Year’s. Water outside turns on between 10pm and 1am. Thanks to the intense drought, my neibhorhood being located on a slight slope up away from the centro, and the haphazard system of leaky and mismatched pipes bringing the water to my house. Washing clothes at 2am, yea I’m good like that. Strategically placed 2-liter bottles all of the house where the water used to be. </div>
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Siesta?? Um that’s when I wake up breakfast = lunch. Still rocking the hat and umbrella, but since I’m avoiding the sun these days I don’t actually use them much. Siesta for the non nocturnal is still not for sleeping since its too hot. However we all need to sit and be quiet for a little bit lest we develop heat rage and start kicking puppies, small children, the wall, or whatever is nearby. </div>
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The heat is making me into a bad person. Keep you distance until after dark or the rain clouds roll in. I'm going to cry now from frustration and heat exhaustion. I think I’m going to die…water, shade. Help. Make it stop. </div>
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</div>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-29002286094065058072012-06-22T21:30:00.003-04:002012-06-22T21:30:34.742-04:00Paraguayan President Impeached: BBC News Summary<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18553813">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18553813</a>
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Paraguay President Fernando Lugo impeached by congress</h1>
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<img alt="Paraguay"s former President Fernando Lugo addresses the nation after the Senate voted to remove him from office " height="171" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/61092000/jpg/_61092179_015135226-1.jpg" style="-webkit-user-select: none; border: 0px; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0px; position: relative;" width="304" /><span style="display: block; width: 304px;">Mr Lugo addressed the nation after the vote</span></div>
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<a class="hidden" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18553813#story_continues_1" style="color: #4a7194; font-weight: bold; left: -5000px; position: absolute; text-decoration: none; top: -5000px;">Continue reading the main story</a><h2 style="border-bottom-color: rgb(216, 216, 216); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(216, 216, 216); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-size: 1.231em; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 11px 0px 12px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">
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</div>
<div class="introduction" id="story_continues_1" style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-rendering: auto;">
Paraguay's Senate has voted to impeach left-wing President Fernando Lugo, forcing him to step down.</div>
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Both houses of Congress had voted on Thursday to begin impeachment proceedings over his handling of clashes between farmers and police last week in which at least 17 people died.</div>
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Mr Lugo likened the move to a coup by the right wing-controlled parliament, but said he would accept the decision.</div>
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Vice-President Federico Franco has already been sworn in as president.</div>
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He will serve the remainder of Mr Lugo's five-year term, which ends in August 2013.</div>
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After previously trying to get the Supreme Court to stop the impeachment vote, the fallen president said he accepted "what the law has stated, even though the law was twisted".</div>
<span class="cross-head" style="color: #505050; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.231em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">'No coup'</span><div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-rendering: auto;">
Calling on his supporters to remain calm, he added that "the history of Paraguay and its democracy have been deeply wounded".</div>
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Mr Lugo's 2008 election ended 61 years of rule by the right-wing Colorado party.</div>
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The two main political parties, Colorado and Liberal, had put aside their differences and voted in favour of the motion to begin the impeachment trial.</div>
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The Liberals are part of Mr Lugo's ruling coalition.</div>
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In an appeal filed with Paraguay's Supreme Court on Friday, Mr Lugo's lawyers had said the proceedings do not ensure due process and that the president should have been granted more time to prepare.</div>
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A centre-right legislator, Carlos Maria, denied allegations of unconstitutionality. "There's nothing illegal here, there's no constitutional rupture, no coup," he told AP.</div>
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The impeachment sparked clashes between police on horseback and supporters of Mr Lugo massed outside the National Congress building in the capital Asuncion.</div>
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"We do not want the return of dictatorship," one protester who had travelled to the capital from the Brazilian border told the AFP news agency.</div>
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Water cannon was used by police to drive the protesters back.</div>
<span class="cross-head" style="color: #505050; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.231em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">'Poor performance'</span><div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-rendering: auto;">
The impeachment motion accused Mr Lugo of a "poor performance" during the forced land eviction last Friday, in which seven police officers and at least nine farmers were killed.</div>
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<img alt="Congressional President Jorge Oviedo Matto, left, places the presidential sash on Paraguay"s former Vice President Federico Franco " height="171" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/61092000/jpg/_61092177_015135299-1.jpg" style="-webkit-user-select: none; border: 0px; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0px; position: relative;" width="304" /><span style="display: block; width: 304px;">Vice-President Federico France was sworn in as president shortly after Mr Lugo's impeachment</span></div>
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Speaking on national television on Thursday, Mr Lugo said he would not resign, but "face the consequences" of the trial. He accused his opponents of carrying out an "express coup d'etat".</div>
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The Union of South American Nations has send an urgent mission of foreign ministers to Paraguay to "ensure the right to defend democracy".</div>
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Ecuador's President Rafael Correa warned that the regional bloc could invoke its "democracy clause" to sever ties with Paraguay and even close its borders if Mr Lugo is not tried according to "due process".</div>
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BBC regional analyst Leonardo Rocha says South American countries are worried that Mr Lugo, Paraguay's first left-wing president, is the victim of a political trial by the Colorado party and other right-wing groups.</div>
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Several South American countries, including neighbouring Argentina and Bolivia, have already said they do not recognise the new government, reports say.</div>
<span class="cross-head" style="color: #505050; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.231em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Land clashes</span><div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 18px; padding: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-rendering: auto;">
During the clashes in eastern Canindeyu province that prompted the impeachment move, more than 300 police officers tried to evict 150 landless farmers from an estate owned by a wealthy businessman who is also a political opponent of Mr Lugo.</div>
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The eviction escalated into violence and the farmers opened fire on the police.</div>
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The farmers have argued the land was illegally taken during the 1954-1989 military rule of Gen Alfredo Stroessner and distributed among his allies.</div>
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Land disputes are not unusual in Paraguay, where a small fraction of the population owns about 80% of the land.</div>
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Mr Lugo - a former Catholic bishop who abandoned priesthood to enter politics - campaigned for the needs of the poor.</div>
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Before being elected in 2008, he promised land for some 87,000 landless families.</div>
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On Wednesday, in an attempt to calm tensions over the incident, Mr Lugo said he would open an investigation into what happened.</div>
</div>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-15848999118587911552012-04-08T17:31:00.002-04:002012-04-08T17:31:39.392-04:00Tañarandy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="text-align: left;">Every year on Good
Friday, there is a locally famous Holy Week event called Tañarandy. </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e3RmP88M4q4/T4H5ClBcEiI/AAAAAAAAAVo/5cOSTEfavcw/s1600/DSC_1227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e3RmP88M4q4/T4H5ClBcEiI/AAAAAAAAAVo/5cOSTEfavcw/s320/DSC_1227.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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(Guy leading tours via horse cart)</div>
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It consists of a candlelit walk several
kilometers long from the community of Tañarandy to an open space short walk just north of San Ignacio. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MBQVt2R-57w/T4H5TL67C0I/AAAAAAAAAVw/KsdA6EV4P-U/s1600/DSC_1243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MBQVt2R-57w/T4H5TL67C0I/AAAAAAAAAVw/KsdA6EV4P-U/s320/DSC_1243.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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(Procession road during the day, people walking to the starting area to walk with the Maria statue)</div>
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(Line of candles made out of animal fat, half of an orange, and a wick)</div>
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Around
sunset thousands upon thousands of candles are lit down the path with enough
space in-between for people to walk. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KQ4PS92L7c0/T4H8OfRi5YI/AAAAAAAAAXA/rADvGbaZPVI/s1600/DSC_1386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KQ4PS92L7c0/T4H8OfRi5YI/AAAAAAAAAXA/rADvGbaZPVI/s320/DSC_1386.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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(View of the procession road from a hill)</div>
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The
procession of several thousand people walk down the path, the majority walking
a just before or after a statue of Maria surrounded by ‘escenarios’ singers who
sing songs relating to different stations of the cross.<br />
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(Maria Statue)</div>
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(Escenarios in purple capes walking in front of the Maria)</div>
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The statue of Mary is carried to a crucifix
in the open area, after which the Jesus statue is removed from the cross. Then, on a hill opposite the crucifix several
scenes from the bible are depicted by actors in living painting scenes. This year the last supper, 3 depictions of
Jesus on the cross, and once scene that I think was the preparation of Jesus’
body for his tomb, and another scene at a table. There was a choir and live music to accompany
the presentation of the scenes. The
event was surprisingly short, which was nice since we were all standing. The presentation of the scenes was followed
by traditional music, dancing, displaces of artisanal works, food, etc around
the main plaza of San Ignacio.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Thursday:<br />
On Thursday, I had
5 guests arrive. Jorge, a Spaniard who
is traveling around south America on his bike, 3 PC volunteers, and one American
friend of the volunteers. I cooked up a
big pot of sloppy joes for dinner, Jorge brought out a bottle of wine, and we
had a low key night.<br />
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Friday:<br />
The next day an Argentine couple from Clordina drove in to stay as well. I made an awesome chicken soup for lunch and
jambalaya for dinner. I love having
groups of people over, but cooking for everyone can be very difficult when the
supermarkets closed at noon on Thursday and weren't going to open again until
Saturday. So I had to stock up, esp since
there were 5 additional people who had said they might come by. So in my mind, I was prepped for potentially
12 guests. It took 3 trips to the
grocery store, filling my backpack each time, to get enough food to my house
that I felt comfortable I could feed everyone.
Thankfully once you get a group that large together, people understand
they’re going to have to take care of themselves a bit more. I told them the fridge and drinks were all
fair game, and to serve themselves if they needed a snack. </div>
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I still don’t have
running water in my house, but everyone got used to filling up a large Tupperware
container from the faucet outside and dumping it down the bowl when necessary. Fortunately we had rain beforehand, so we had
water in the outside faucet almost the entire time. When we didn’t, my 30L container helped
provide supplemental water and seating.
I only have 4 chairs and a stool.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The day of Tañarandy, my group of 8 met
up with my friend Luis and a bunch of his friends, as well as another volunteer,
her Paraguayan husband and some of his family. <br />
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(My crew and me)</div>
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My fellow americans and I walked a good ways up the procession route, thought not all of the way. We sat on some grass and waited for sunset. One of the things I was curious about was going to light all of the candles. However at the top of the procession road at sunset, we started to see the flicker of candles. A little while later everyone around me got out cigarette lighters and started lighting the candles around us. I picked up a lit candle to use since I didn't have a lighter on me.<br />
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(Lighting the candles)</div>
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The most memorable thing about the procession walk was how the candles smelled. Since they are made of oranges, when the wicks burned down enough to touch the sides of the fruit, they would burn too, which filled the air with a deliciously smokey citrus scent.
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After the procession, the scenes were lit up. At first we didn't realize all of the people were actors, not statues. One particular scene was of Jesus leaning forward off of the cross at an odd angle which must have been super uncomfortable for the actor. Overall it was really well done. Its unfortunate that buses don't run on Fridays. If they did, more volunteers would be able to come out and see the show. They don't know what they're missing.<br />
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Afterwards we went to the plaza for a bit, though after about 45 minutes
the Americans got tired, all of us volunteers have seen the dancing and the
music before, so we went home and at a late dinner. Another volunteer, Rose, who was in the area
with her host family from her community also joined us for dinner and stopped
by again the next day.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BGXdltW7CXA/T4H54zLP8rI/AAAAAAAAAWA/OMZFYnaJSw0/s1600/DSC_1273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BGXdltW7CXA/T4H54zLP8rI/AAAAAAAAAWA/OMZFYnaJSw0/s320/DSC_1273.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
(Tanarandy Painting)</div>
<br />
Saturday:<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The next day the Argentineans
wanted to treat us to an asado lunch, but it turned out there wasn’t really
much food left in San Ignacio. They went
to the carniceria (meat shop), as well as the supermarket, but didn’t find what
they wanted. So we skipped the asado and
they took me (everyone else had already left) to lunch. At the restaurant they were out of most of
the menu, but I was still able to get a very tasty piece of chicken with rice
with a red sauce on top.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
After that the
couple also went home. Although I really
enjoyed having everyone over, my throat was sore from talking to so many
people, all day long, for three days.
And I was quite thankful for some quiet time. I passed out while watching the end of You’re
Welcome America, took a nap for a few hours, woke up, cleaned the house for
about 2 hours, and then went back to bed. Very tired.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Amazingly, even
though 9 people were at my house at one point or another, the house was
remarkably clean. It needed a good sweeping
and there was a pile of dishes in the sink, but other than that and refilling
my water bottles and rearranging a few things, there wasn’t much real cleaning
to do.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I also have a ton
of leftovers, so I won’t have to do any cooking for a few days. Bonus!<br />
<br />
*Photos courtesy of Migue and Maria</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
</div>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-22312160740060813742012-03-26T21:18:00.000-04:002012-03-26T21:18:22.948-04:00Fulbright Limbo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Fulbright has made their
decision; I’m an alternate. :( :) </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I don’t know
how many alternates there are or how far down on the list I am. I’ve asked, though I don’t know if they’ll
tell me. In some ways its worse than
getting an outright rejection because then I’d be able to plan better. </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
As it is, I could
get a message anytime between now and February telling me someone has dropped
out. Needless to say it makes planning
for the future a little difficult, and I have only five months to figure out a
plan that keeps me busy but uncommitted until February, in case I get in. At the same time I need to plan for those
months after February in case I don’t get in.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I’ve been looking
into graduate schools lately, but since I don’t know what I want to study, it’s
very overwhelming. While I do want to go
back to school, I don’t feel like the immediate future ie right after peace
corps, is the right time to do it. I
could try to get a job, but it would probably take months, and I’d probably have
to quit it a little while later to go to school. Oh decisions, decisions. I’ll leave them for
tomorrow.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I’ve taught my
exercise class for today, bought a roast chicken for dinner, given the six
hotdog buns that accompanied the chicken to the dogs on my way home. I’m skipping my own exercise routine, just finished
watching Seinfeld’s “I’m telling you for the last time” video, started Sin
City, going to pour a nice big glass of wine, take a shower, go to bed early,
and start figuring out things in the morning. </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Suggestions are welcome.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: justify;">The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want. </span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: justify;" /><span class="Red" style="color: #952300; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;">Ben Stein</span> </o:p></div>
</div>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-84526251835606363702012-03-26T20:54:00.002-04:002012-03-26T20:54:20.972-04:00Back Baby, I'm BACK!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I ‘m back in
Paraguay and things are going pretty well.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I slept the entire
way from Atlanta to Buenos Aires, so after the quick flight between Buenos
Aires and Asuncion I went to the Peace Corps office for a few hours, took a
siesta on a sofa, and then caught a bus back to San Ignacio. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
While trying to
catch a bus between the office and the bus terminal 3 buses passed me by
without letting me on because of all of the luggage. Buggers. Welcome home indeed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Admittedly for the
first 24 hours I kept asking myself “why did I come back. Why didn’t I just stay in Atlanta, live in
Bree’s computer room on the inflatable mattress and make a career out of
annoying her cats. I’m sure she would be
cool with that at least for a few months.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
However thankfully
the weather was nice for a few days and after chatting with my peace corps wives,
Julia and Casey, I fell back into my old rhythm. My wives evidently began chatting a lot
between the two of them in my absence, which I was a little jealous of at
first. But we’re all good now.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Since then I’ve
started up my exercise class again. I
had two substitute teachers who took care of the class while I was gone and
they did a great job, but the attendance did fall off a bit. The attendance has also gone down because
school has started up again and many of my participants had to go back to teach
or to attend classes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The heat returned
after a few days; alas my water has not.
Thankfully a few days before the official end of summer the temperatures
dropped and haven’t gone back up since, which has been glorious. AND it’s been raining. Yes, I’ve heard angels
singing and it sounds like rain. At
least once a week. Maybe I will get to
take a proper shower in the near future.
In the meantime I bought a 30L jug to store water, mainly to flush my
toilet more than once a day. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
If you’ve been
wondering what those odd photos with funny faces and white foam are, those are
from the San Ignacio Carnaval parade.
Some jerk kept spraying us in the face, which was obviously unpleasant,
but overall we had a really fun time.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Fbn76hMOmvo/T3EPgUr17UI/AAAAAAAAAVI/ko4T-mPjlBc/s1600/Carnaval_Foam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Fbn76hMOmvo/T3EPgUr17UI/AAAAAAAAAVI/ko4T-mPjlBc/s320/Carnaval_Foam.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I also had a
Couchsurfer, Koos, from the Netherlands aka Holland who stayed with me for two
nights. I took him to the Paraguayan
dance and music presentation they have every Sunday in the centro, which I confess
I’ve never gone to before. I’ve heard
the polka and seen the dances, so I didn’t have enough motivation to make the
trek into town to see it before. Admittedly
it all sounded the same after a little while since I don’t really have an ear
for polka. A pair of very enthusiastic
gentlemen in the back however, made the night very entertaining. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Koos was also
wonderful because he change the light in my living room that has been out for
months. I’m too short to reach it, yes,
even on a chair. Thankfully my guest was
very very tall and easily switched it out. Woohoo, just in time for the winter
time change.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I missed Tuck terribly while I was gone. He had a good time with his Aunti Carly, got into a few fights, killed a chicken, ran amok but always came back home, enjoyed life as a free range campo dog. I was home alone for a few days and the house was too quiet without him crying and licking my elbow. Such a cutie. </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Its good to be back.</div>
</div>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-4165029112527611422012-01-11T00:01:00.000-05:002012-01-11T11:28:42.148-05:00How Hot Is It?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The recent temps are in the high 90's. With high humidity the heat index is usually somewhere between 115 and 120<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
2/3 of my meals
come in slushy form. I force myself to
eat 1 real meal per day, but some of it always ends up going to Tucker b/c hot
food makes me feel sick</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I realize siesta
was put in place as a safety measure. It keep you out of the sun during the most brutal parts of
the day, which gives you a chance to hydrate, take a nap, and avoid exerting
yourself. </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
However it also keeps
individuals from beating each other into a pulp from heat rage. Case and point, around 3pm today I was
updating the attendance list for my exercise class. During the previous class, one lady pointed
out that her name was spelled incorrectly, but told me she would write it
again. While looking at the sheet today
however, I realized she had written it in illegible cursive, the same way she
had written it initially. And naturally
I still couldn’t read it. This is a pet
peeve of mine and I’ve told the class many times I can’t read their cursive and
they need to write in print, but alas some still write their names down like
wanna be doctors. So I started shouting to no one in part “God Damn it
Ninfa! I still can’t read this shit! Why
the hell didn’t you write this shit in print when clearly I couldn’t read it the
first damn time!” Or something to that effect. So yes, siesta is
important to keep people still and quiet and not angry.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
To keep cool I fill
a bucket with water to put my feet in. They will stay there for 2-3 hours
usually. If things get really bad, I put
ice in the bucket as well.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
My favorite
possession, other than my fan, is a wet hand towel that currently resides in
the freezer or on my neck.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
My air conditioner
consists of putting my fan in front of my window and blowing the cool night air
into my house before I go to bed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I have become
partially nocturnal. I make an effort to
stay up until 2-3am so that I will sleep as late as possible, usually 10 or
11am if I’m really lucky. After about
10:30 it usually gets too hot to stay in bed and I have to get up and start taking more active cooling measures. At 6:30 am the sun
starts to shine through my windows, at which point I get up, let Tucker
outside, and shut my front windows, locking in as much of the cool air as
possible. If necessary I go and do morning errands, come back to the house, lie
down, and try to take a long nap. I am
like an ostrich sticking my head in the sand; maybe if I go to sleep I can
pretend it isn’t blazing hot outside.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
If the humidity is
high the house never really cools down completely even at night. Its sticks around like old chewed gum. Thankfully the fan makes up for the
difference.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
My house splits
perfectly into an east and west side. In
the morning I close the east facing windows and let the cooler, west facing
rooms take the edge off of the hot eastern walls. In the evening I close off the Westside rooms
to lock the heat over there and let the eastside rooms. It’s a delicate dance, but I’ll do just about
anything to keep the house a few degrees cooler.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It gets really hot
and humid a few days before it rains.
These days are almost unbearable.
I confess I’ve almost cried from frustration a couple of times. But thankfully, when the rains come through,
the temp drops into the low 90’s maybe even, joy of joys, the high 80’s. The humidity lowers again until the next
storm comes through.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I have not had
running water inside of my house since December 29<sup>th</sup>. There is one faucet outside that comes on
between 10:30 and 12:30 at night, which gives me a chance to fill the eight
2-liter bottles, bucket, kettle, and a large jar I use to store water for the
next day.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Wearing pants and a
shirt, at the same time, is sometimes asking too much.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I spilled half a
glass of ice water on my shorts, after the initial cold shock I decided it was
actually an improvement on my previous condition and continued my work.</div>
</div>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-27949425567338575802011-12-13T17:06:00.001-05:002011-12-13T17:10:01.764-05:00End Scene<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I got a call today
from a number I didn’t recognize the number and assumed it was one of my
exercise ladies calling to tell me she wasn’t going to be able to make it to
class tomorrow, so I didn’t pick up. I
got a text a few seconds later, with a message from Don, our country director,
asking me to call him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
“Shit, they're closing the office” was my immediate reaction.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
While I copy Don on
many of my email messages, he and I don’t talk on the phone ever. So I knew getting a call from him probably
wasn’t a good thing. It wasn’t; the Regional Office is closing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
When I first got
this job I was amazed at how fast Dee called me back with the news. I told her “Good news travels fast, bad news
usually takes a while.” People linger
over bad news, hoping the situation will change, hoping the numbers will
change, not wanting to ruin someone’s
day. For several months now the future
of the Regional Office has been in question. I knew Don and Dee really like the idea of a
Regional office, and when we were set to expand, it made complete sense. But the economic situation in the US canceled
the planned influx of volunteers and cut our budget. I knew without seeing them then numbers weren’t
pretty and weren’t working in our favor.
I think we were all hoping for a Hail Mary budget turnaround, but it
didn’t happen. The hanging doubt over
the future of the office made it clear to me the office was closing, it was
only a matter of when. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
“If the office is
open in 6 months; it will be open in 5 years” and my hopes aren’t high, is what
I told a fellow volunteer. If they could find a way to make the office work in
the short term, with the current budget, I knew they would be able to make it
last in the long run. That was about 2
months ago. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I don’t know what
they are going to do with me or when the office is closing its doors. Don was tired and very apologetic on the
phone, sorry that he couldn’t deliver the news in person. He
just got back from the states after traveling to give Emily back to her family. It has been a tough few weeks in Peace Corps
and I hope he gets to deliver some good news soon.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Hopefully they’ll
let me stay in San Ignacio until after the exercise competition is over. It would be unfortunate to lose the momentum I’ve
started building with the 150 women who have attended my class here. I also have become quite attached to the
volunteers down here. Misiones in
particular is a special place and Asuncion has never had any appeal for me. I don’t know what I would do with Tucker
either if I had to move again. There is
also a meeting I wanted to schedule between all of the volunteers in Misiones
and the Governor and his staff, as well as some small workshops I wanted to put
together. Maybe they’ll let me be a
Regional Coordinator, just without the office.
I’ll miss the air conditioning, but I can still get a considerable
amount of work done on my own. Hell, my
house is big enough. If they gave me the
copy and printer, I’d be almost as good as the existing office.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
That said I’d also
like to work more with Dee, who is an absolute rockstar in my eyes. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Who knows what is going
to happen. Don said we’d talk more
tomorrow and start working out. I’m just
glad to know one way or the other, officially.
Limbo is no fun. No hard feelings
though. I knew Don and Dee tried their
hardest to make it work. But they have
to do what is best for everyone not just little ole’ me. Fortunately this probably couldn’t have
happened to a better person. Working in
ambiguous situations is something I’m extremely good at. Hopefully they’ll realize and remember that
and will be able to write me a fabulous recommendation someday. <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I’ll let you know
more when I do. Till then I’ve got some
roasted cauliflower to eat, a p90x plyometrics workout to test out, and a
workout routine to tweak for tomorrow’s class.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-41875743360850126042011-12-01T06:37:00.001-05:002011-12-01T06:40:59.643-05:00Up and Over<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Emily's Memorial Service at the Peace Corps Office</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The event started
around 7:30pm with a full house, more than attended the Peace Corps Director
Williams visit one speaker noted.
Speeches began with Nikki Briggs, Emily best friend as Master of
Ceremonies, speeches from Elisa, our sector director, Dee the assistant country
director, a letter from Aaron Williams, the global Peace Corps Director, and a
video tribute from Emily’s G. Briggs did
an absolutely amazing job of keeping herself collected most of the time; I was
quite impressed. If it had been Bree,
I’d be a puddle of the floor for the forseeable future. The video tribute wasn’t quite finished, but
what we were see was so touching. G33 is
a very close, very special G, and that comes out crystal clear in the video.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
After the initial speeches, the rest of us
attending the ceremony were allowed to share our own memories of Emily. The service started around 7:30 and ended
after 11pm I think, so you can only image how many people got up to speak. Some of her Gmates who we didn’t get to see in the video spoke, some added to their video comments, some of us who didn’t know her as closely shared the moments
we had with her too. Even people who
didn’t know Emily, but were still touched and detested by the loss of one of
our own spoke eloquently about the Peace Corps
Paraguay family. Final words were
giving by Santiago’s family, Emily’s fiancé.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Some people made us
cry (I’m looking at you Dee), some made us laugh, some gave us a greater
appreciation of our experience in this country and the people sitting next to
us. It was a wonderful tribute to a
wonderful person.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
At the end of the
ceremony a dove was released in Emily’s honor.
The Peace Corps logo is a star coming off of an American flag and
becoming a dove; Emily also had a tattoo that read “She flys on her own
wings”. The dove, who had been sitting
in a box in the air conditioned office most of the day, flew up… and over…and
straight into the glass wall of the hallway surrounding our medical office!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
After the shock
wore off, and quickly confirming the bird had not injured itself, everyone
burst into laughter. The bird flew away
of its own accord a little while later. Now
whenever I start getting misty about the whole situation, I just think about
that damn bird and it makes me smile.
Emily had a great sense of humor; I think she would have appreciated the
moment.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-23866622362346309772011-11-28T21:01:00.001-05:002011-11-28T21:01:55.568-05:00That Person<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<h3 class="entry-title" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: palatino, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 2.3em; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 30px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">
That Person</h3>
<h4 class="vcard author" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #999999; font-family: constantia, palatino, 'times new roman'; font-size: 1.2em; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center; top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
by James Shelley, November 3, 2011<br /><a href="http://www.jamesshelley.net/2011/11/that-person/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #9c8a6a; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Readability</a> | <a href="http://www.instapaper.com/hello2?url=http://www.jamesshelley.net/2011/11/that-person/&title=That%20Person" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #9c8a6a; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Instapaper</a></h4>
<div class="entry-content" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: palatino, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 10px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 24px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br /><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.7em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
That person. The one you keep running into and your conversation always goes like this: “We really should grab a coffee sometime and catch up.”</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.7em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
That person. You know you share something in common with them, but you’re not exactly sure what that commonality is yet.</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.7em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
That person. You have no agenda other than a stirring curiosity about the way they think and the way they look at the world.</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.7em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
That person. Somehow you’ve both let iCal, Outlook, Blackberry, and Quo Vadis get in the way of actually being together.</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.7em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
That person. This is just a little reminder that <em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">today</em> you need to…</div>
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.7em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
☑ Contact that person.</div>
</div>
</div>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-34578305074169108232011-11-28T20:45:00.001-05:002011-11-28T20:58:18.542-05:00Our Hearts and Thoughts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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On Sunday morning my fellow volunteer, Emily Balog, was driving home with her boyfriend after spending the weekend
celebrating Thanksgiving with her Training groupsmates. Their car somehow went out of control, hitting
a minivan containing a music group headed towards the capital. Emily died instantly, several others are
still in the hospital in critical condition.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I didn’t know Emily
well, we chatted a couple of weeks ago when she asked me for material about
nutrition and health classes she wanted to start in her community. I did know her well enough to know she was a talented, passionate, creative person. She will be greatly missed by the Peace
Corps family.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Even those
volunteers who don’t know her have been profoundly affected by this loss. Peace Corps Paraguay is an great extended
family. Your g-mates and vac mates
become your immediate family, RPCVs are like grandparents and great aunts and
uncles, and everyone else in-country will back you up at the first word if the need arises.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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It is astounding
the amount of trust that instantly develops between volunteers. I like to joke that the only people on earth
who can actually understand what I’m saying at all times are other volunteers. During our darkest and most challenging times
during our service, our volunteer network pulls us through. Whether it is having 2 hours conversations in
10 minutes increments (we get the 1<sup>st</sup> 10 minutes free a call, so we
set timers to cut the call just before then), dropping everything to go visit a
friend in need, hosting a friend and binging on True Blood, Arrested
Development…, we do whatever is needed to take care of one another. Losing part of that community is devastating.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tomorrow is the
memorial service at the Peace Corps office.
The admin team is being very generous and offering to reimburse travel
and hotel expenses for volunteers who would like to attend. I am really thankful to live at a post that
takes care of us so well.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Good bye Emily. You will be missed.</div>
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PS: I’m pretty sure
a considerable number of volunteers knew about the accident before it was
announced to the family. Most volunteers
have the sense of courtesy to transmit this information via phone, but some
posted took to Facebook. Those posts
were removed when volunteers realized the family hadn’t been informed, but the
Spanish ones on her wall stayed posted.
I can only hope the family didn’t see the messages before hearing from
Peace Corps. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Since online
culture and etiquette is still being developed, I’d like to put it out there
that perhaps in the future people should avoid outing a story like this for at
least 24 hours. The family and close
friends are going to need at least that amount of time to be contacted and
start making their own calls.
Personally, I waited to post until I saw there was a new story in one of
the Paraguayan papers.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
I will say I'm happy that people have been good about distributing the various news stories without linking them to her profile. It would be very irritating if the same story describing the accident was posted repeatedly on her wall. That or her privacy settings are keeping it from happening. Either way, puntos for everyone using facebook tagging respectfully.</div>
</div>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-80135840516404593202011-11-27T09:17:00.001-05:002011-11-27T09:17:45.808-05:00I'm Boycotting Hoopla<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Christmas scented air
fresheners being advertised before Halloween!
Black Friday starting on Thanksgiving evening! People rioting and
getting maced!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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What the heck is going
on up there!?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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And you wonder why I
avoid the holiday season. I wish
everyone could spend at least one holiday season not in the US or any place
that celebrates like the US so you could see how not miserably crazy and
stressful things can be.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-11148211090203829362011-11-27T09:07:00.001-05:002011-11-27T09:13:14.645-05:00Bad Movies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
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Julia and Casey stayed
with me for a few days for Thanksgiving.
As generally happens when any number of volunteers get together, we made
amazing food and watch way too many movies.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I made a cinnamon bun
bread that was positively amazing. We
also made hamburgers and French fries, success here as well. The hummus, potatoes, and apply pie, were
equally amazing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Sadly the moving
watching did not turn out as well.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We watched Breaking
Dawn, Cowboys and Aliens, and Red Riding Hood.
All of which were as bad as the critics have said.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Breaking Dawn suffers
from it usual bad acting in all Twilight films and the fact that I don’t completely understand why
all of the menfolk are so twitterpated with such a shell of a female character. There was no independent plot and its clear
parts 1 and 2 should not have been separated
since their isn’t enough substance in BD#1 to actually sustain an independent
movie.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cowboys and Aliens
didn’t have to be bad. The acting was
good, but the plot was completely predicable.
You never got the sense the characters were actually in danger. I think it would have been salvageable with
the same basic plot if the movie had been funny, but as is, it too itself far
too seriously.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I’m not sure what was
wrong with Red Riding Hood. Again, the
acting wasn’t bad, but the was just something not engaging about the plot. There is this whole mystery about who is the
wolf, except they don’t do a good job procedurally of leading the viewer
through the mystery. Again, another
bust.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So total fail with our
movie watching experience, but made better by the company of good friends... and a few glasses of wine.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
PS: Also found out there was an animated 3D movie called "Mars Needs Moms" that totally failed. Reeeeally, never could have seen that coming</div>
</div>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-24861006353598650462011-11-27T08:52:00.001-05:002011-11-27T08:56:17.460-05:00Looking Fancy, Feeling like a Whale: Thanksgiving Mission Accomplished<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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After going to the
local casino in San Ignacio for their Thursday Karoke night, my friend Casey
and I decided it would be awesome to host a Thanksgiving dinner in San Ignacio.
We could have a big early dinner at my
house or the office and then go to the casino for some singing, dancing
fun. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get
enough people to commit to coming, so I invited myself to my friend Melissa’s
Thanksgiving in her site in Villa Florida.
Villa Florida is on a river and Melissa had already arranged to have her
dinner at a hotel with a pool.
River/Pool is a very fair exchange for Karoke.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Casey made garlic
potatoes, Julia made hummus, and I made apple pie that morning, caught one of the
only double decker buses (with ac!) that will actually stop in San Ignacio without
charging the full price all of the way to the capital, even if you want to get
off sooner. Amazingly they charged Casey
and me the normal price (it was such a nice bus they could have charged up to
50% more), and they completely forgot to charge Julia at all. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JTlC9Lm1siY/TtJBLJNDctI/AAAAAAAAAUM/7ClOfdJu3cY/s1600/303858_980750296437_5618937_43445452_1027411562_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JTlC9Lm1siY/TtJBLJNDctI/AAAAAAAAAUM/7ClOfdJu3cY/s320/303858_980750296437_5618937_43445452_1027411562_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(Pie and Potatoes on the Double Decker Bus)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
We were all dressed
up, so there was a lot of rubber necking going on while we waited at the bus
stop, including 5-6 of the local police officers piled into their truck cruising
around, and a set of guys in a truck who
let their vehicle roll back 4 car lengths so their car would be waiting
in front of us instead of at the stoplight they were at.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
We got to Villa
Floriday around 3, having only picked at food around my house and finishing off
the hamburgers I made the night before so we were getting hungry. We found out dinner wasn’t going to happen until about 7pm, so after a quick dip
in the pool we heated up some pita bread and broke open some Lays and went to
town on the hummus. I have to say, it’s
the best batch I’ve helped make. I think
I might just have to stop making it because I don’t think I’ll be able to top
it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
In true Hora
Paraguaya fashion, the locals didn’t start arriving for dinner until 9-10pm,
after Melissa messaged them tell them to get to the hotel because the turkey
was done and we were ready to eat.
Potluck style dinners aren’t really the norm, the host usually provides
everything. But Melissa’s friends did a
good job of bringing additional dishes and we had a nice assortment of
different meat dishes, potato salad,
empanadas, etc.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Julia, Casey and I
had eaten so much hummus that we could hardly take advantage of the main
course. But we did our best. Julia made a serious dent in the sausage
plate in front of her, like there was an actual divot in the cut sausage
pile. Admittedly it was really good. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Before we cut the
turkey, we each went around the table saying what we were thankful for, a new
tradition for the locals, who were very hesitant at first, especially the few
stragglers that came after the main group had gone and started eating. But Melissa held firm and told them they
couldn’t eat until they shared.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I was surprised how
some of the guests actually seemed ot like the hummus we made. It had a really strong flavor, which usually Paraguayans
don’t like. The potatoes didn’t go over
real well since we put a bunch of pepper and garlic. The apple pie, which was very tart and cinnamon,
didn’t go over very well either, since they prefer their desserts very sweet
and sugary. Not that Julia, Casey, and I
were at all perturbed by this. Casey ate
the last half piece for breakfast the next morning, most of it was polished off
while waiting for the bus that evening.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
We left around 11pm
to catch a bus back to San Ignacio, got charged the correct price again!
Amazing! Got back into San Ignacio a little after midnight and started walking
the 15minutes back to my house. As we
did a carful of guys offered us a ride, we declined, and declined, and declined
again. They even offered to get out of their car and walk with us. No thanks gents. They eventually got the message
and went away. Like I said ,we were
looking pretty fancy, even if we felt like whales.</div>
</div>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-49020176466259851102011-09-25T16:29:00.003-04:002011-09-25T16:52:18.433-04:00Game of Thrones<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span">I admit it, I'm hooked. <span> </span>I blazed through the 5 books in two weeks.<span> </span>Considering they are ~800-1000 pages long each, well, let’s just say the laundry is a little backed up and I should probably make a meal that doesn’t consist of squash stir-fry or I’m going to start turning orange.<span> </span>I also devoured the first season on HBO in a few days.<span> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span>The sad part is that season two won’t be available until next year, and the next books, well, it took the author 6 years to go from book 4 to 5.<span> </span>Hopefully he won’t keep me waiting until I’m forty to finish the series.<span> </span>That would make my crush on Jon Snow, ~17 years old in the books, but played by a 24 year-old actor in the TV series, very inappropriate. Hopefully covering a book per season will help keep him on a reasonable timeline.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span>And speaking of Jon Snow, I’d like the record to reflect my prediction that Lyanna Stark is Jon’s mother and Rhaegar Targaryen is his father (not Ned Stark).</span></span></p>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-68668274225560612262011-09-25T15:46:00.002-04:002011-09-25T16:58:12.855-04:00Ooops its been a while.<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Lila:</p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span>Lila is still gone.<span> </span>She disappeared almost exactly 2 years after I moved in with my host family in Campo 9.<span> </span>Lila had been living at the office, which has a huge grassy yard, surrounded on all sides by brick walls.<span> </span>I don’t know if she somehow escaped while the cleaning lady was raking the leaves off of the sidewalk in the front of the office.<span> </span>She may have also jumped through the iron gate at the entrance we use to lets cars into the yard.<span> </span>The first 2 feet of the fence are far too small for her to squeeze through, but she could have jumped through the bars above that because they are spaced farther apart.<span> </span>It is also possible that someone stole her.<span> </span>She was very friendly and would come up to the gate if people were on the other side.<span> </span>So someone could have pulled her out through the gate.<span> </span>Naturally I feel like shit about it because I could have put chicken wire on the portion of the gate with wider bars, but I didn’t because I didn’t think she’d try to jump out.<span> </span>The yard was so big, and there was so much noise, cars, dogs, etc on the other side, I didn’t think she’d feel the need to leave.<span> </span>She always did have a bit of a Harry Houdini complex.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span>Even though she has been gone for over a month, I still have a habit of keeping an eye out for her when I walk around the neighborhood and the office.<span> </span>If she jumped out, she could jump back in right?<span> </span>But really I hope that she died a quick death.<span> </span>I’d hate to think she is out there in the bushes somewhere, scared, hungry, thirsty.<span> </span>I’d also know how miserable she would be if someone stole her and the put her in a tiny cage.<span> </span>Its better for her to be gone than to suffer.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span>Dog sitting:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span>Recently I was the proud babysitter of 3 other dogs, 4 including Tucker.<span> </span>All under the age of 11 months.<span> </span>Yep, that’s a lot of puppy.<span> </span>Fortunately they were all really well behaved.<span> </span>Mo went into heat a few days before I was going to get her spayed, so she and Tucker had to stay apart.<span> </span>But other than that, they all got along swimmingly well.<span> </span>The most irritating part was keeping them all fed.<span> </span>I live 25 minutes, walking, from the grocery store so hauling kilos of dog food, rice, potatoes, carrots, and eggs got old really fast.<span> </span>Then I had to prepare the food.<span> </span>Tucker and Moe eat rice, potatoes, carrots, and eggs, which meant tons of chopping and boiling.<span> </span>Zoe and Indy ate dog food, but I always added a little of oil and egg because Zoe was terribly skinny when she came to me and Indy is a bit picky. <span> </span>Evidently when Indy’s mom leaves him at the vet when she goes out of town, he doesn’t eat for the first few days.<span> </span>Thankfully I didn’t have that problem. <span> </span>I also had a hard time making sure the dogs didn’t eat each other’s food. <span> </span>But it all worked out in the end.<span> </span>All the dogs when home chubbier than they came, which is my measure of babysitting success.<span> </span>And Julia bought me some pretty earrings and a Peruvian had from her vacation, which was a nice bonus.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span>End of Winter:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span>Winter is coming to a close here.<span> </span>There is always that moment of hesitation when I start to do dishes at night, expecting the water to be so cold my fingers will be numb by the end. <span> </span>I can take a shower ever other day, or every day, joys! If I want to because I don’t start to become hypothermic the minute I turn the hot water off.<span> </span>I do have to start paying more attention to what I wear unfortunately.<span> </span>During the winter time I’ll often wear my pajama shirt to work because I never take my jacket off.<span> </span>Who cares what I’m wearing underneath if they’re never going to see it. </span><span style="font-family:Wingdings;mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-char-type:symbol; mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings"><span>J</span></span><span><span> </span>We should still have some cold fronts that come through the next month or so, but by this time in November, I’ll certainly be complaining about the heat.<span> </span>Thankfully the winter has been quite tolerable.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span>The end of winter also means the return of mosquito. I woke up two days ago with 4 new bites on my right foot. Time to put up the mosquito net.</span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span>Thanksgiving:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span>For the past two years I’ve attended the big Peace Corps volunteer Thanksgiving bash at a hotel near Encarnacion.<span> </span>While it’s a lot of fun, it really isn’t worth the 380 mil price tag for the event, at least not more than once.<span> </span>So this year I will probably be hosting a small Thanksgiving at my house.<span> </span>I’m also looking into going to Brazil for Christmas and New Years.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span>Home Leave:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span>When I signed on for an extra year of Peace Corps, I also got 1 month of home leave.<span> </span>I’ve decided to take it during the month of February of next year.<span> </span>I’ll probably spend a couple of weeks in Texas, a couple in Georgia, and I’m thinking of maybe jumping up to Philly to see family there.<span> </span>Who knows.<span> </span>I’ll let you in on the specific dates when I know them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-81563514121176913012011-06-13T22:55:00.002-04:002011-06-13T23:10:16.981-04:00Tonights broadcast is brought to you from my new house.<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; ">I’ve been house hunting since the week of Easter, April 24<sup>th</sup>, when I moved from Campo 9 to San Ignacio Misiones to work at the Regional Office Coordinator.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>After weeks of searching, my new co-workers found a house for me in a neighborhood about a ~20 minute walk from the office.</span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; "><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-ansi-language: EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-ansi-language: EN-US">The house is huge, probably 2-3 times the size of my previous house.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There are 2 medium sized rooms, a master bedroom, a huge living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom (with a door that opens properly this time).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The floor is good quality tile, and the ceiling and roof are also solid. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It faces east, which means it will be cooler in the summertime, which is more important to me than being warm in the winter since summer here lasts longer.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-ansi-language: EN-US"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-ansi-language: EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-ansi-language: EN-US">It also has a huge yard for Tucker and Lila.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Lila is staying at the office for a while longer because there are tons of holes in the chainlink fences that need to be closed up.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-ansi-language: EN-US"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-ansi-language: EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-ansi-language: EN-US">While I do like this house quite a lot, it’s a solid 20-25 minute walk to the office.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Eventually I’d like to find something closer.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There was a house about a block from the office that I looked into, but the owners couldn’t make a decision in time, this house was available now, and I really needed to move into my own place.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There was a house a while back, notably closer to the office that I passed on because it was 500mil G per month and I was hoping to find something in the 300-400mil range.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This house is 450mil, but I’d pay the extra 50mil to be closer to the office.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-ansi-language: EN-US"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-ansi-language: EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";mso-ansi-language: EN-US">So I’m not going to settle too deeply into this house, since I’ll be keeping an eye on places closer by. But for the next 2 months or so, this will be home.<o:p></o:p></span></p>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-18695179320836226742011-06-12T23:49:00.003-04:002011-06-14T00:00:13.449-04:00You'll Be a Good Dog... But For Now, You Are a Bad Puppy<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Rolls of toilet paper shredded: <o:p></o:p></span>4-5</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Shoe, blanket, jacket thefts: too many to count (3 today)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Bags of rice destroyed: <o:p></o:p></span>2</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Stole a bag of potatoes and scattered them about the yard<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Bags of salt destroyed: 1</span></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bags of sugar destroyed: 1</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Innumerable plastic bags shredded<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Steals and shreds floor mats<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Destroyed his dog bed<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Takes the blankets and sheets off of their shelf and lays on them with muddy feet<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Chewed through rope leash I tied him up in the yard with 3-4 times<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Destroyed his rope walking leash 3-4 times, until I bought a chain one, then he destroyed the cloth handle<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Tore several pages out of Victor’s Anna Karina book<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Destroyed a newly purchased bag of 2 dozen eggs: 5 survived intact<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Tooth brushed destroyed: 2<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Razors destroyed: 2-3<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Bottles of conditioner punctured: 2</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Takes clean laundry off of the clothes line<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Pairs of underwear torn up: 1<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Pairs of missing underwear: 1 (that I know of)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Only jumps on me with muddy feet when I’m wearing clean clothes and need to speak with someone important. Jumps on visitors the minute they walk in the door<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Absolutely freaks out when left alone for more than 15 minutes for any reason</p><p class="MsoNormal">I see snip snip in your future...</p>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-49072715659437899892011-04-13T21:09:00.003-04:002011-04-13T21:14:32.473-04:00Announcing the New Regional Office Coordinator…Me<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Yes, I am the new volunteer coordinator at the Peace Corps’ regional office in San Ignacio, Misiones.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Unfortunately, the previous coordinator had to leave before his full term ended in December, so the position suddenly became vacant.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I applied, was interviewed, offered, and accepted the position on Monday, April 11<sup>th</sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">I will be leaving my current and much loved home, Campo 9, on Monday, April 18<sup>th</sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Peace Corps will be sending a truck to help me move.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We’ll stay in Asuncion for the night, and then make the trek to the new office the next morning. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I’ll be moving in during Holy Week, so I’ll get to play house and set things up while most people are taking a holiday.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That will help me get my sea legs before the big work starts.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">I don’t have a house yet, but the lady I’ll be working with, Adrianna, is looking for one for me. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Yes, the animals are coming with me.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I noticed the new office has a nice grassy yard, so Lila may live at the office as the mascot during the week, especially if my house doesn’t have good space for her.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>My little street bastard, Tucker, is also going to be coming.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I intend to have plenty of Benadryl on hand to keep him calm during the trip, since he’ll be sitting in my lap.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I have a travel crate for Lila, but not for Tucker.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">The office consists of Adrianna, who will take care of the administrative responsibilities, Victor, the driver, security personnel, and me, the volunteer coordinator.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">I’ll be in charge of about 50 volunteers.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">I’ve been told I get my own office </span><span style="font-family:Wingdings;mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-char-type:symbol; mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings"><span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings">J</span></span><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">I get a raise!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">San Ignacio is 4 hours south east of the capital.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">My job will consist of supporting the volunteers in the area, especially during their first 3 months.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I’ll visit volunteers, help with projects, plan joint projects, and build relationships with local organizations.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">I’ll be working with volunteers in all of the sectors, Community Economic Development, Agriculture, Education, and Health.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Basically my job is to run make our office into a miniature version of the main office in the capital.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I don’t know much more than that because I’ve never been to the San Ignacio office. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Initially I’ll focus on getting to know the area and the volunteers and pick up and projects the previous coordinator was working on. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><o:p> I told the women in my exercise class today that I was going to be working with them anymore. They seemed sad and a bit nervous about the future of the competition. I'm going to write up all of our exercises and script Friday's class and next week for them, so hopefully that will give them some confidence and they'll be willing to run things themselves after that.</o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Life is about to get very very busy<o:p></o:p></span></p>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-12233620567366864272011-04-08T13:34:00.005-04:002011-04-08T13:55:05.264-04:00Back By Popular Demand<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">By popular demand, I’ve started up the exercise class agai</span>n. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We’ll have one more week of class, and then begin the competition on the 18th. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Thus far we’ve had a pretty low turnout because we had to change the time from 6:30 to 6:00 because the sun sets around 7 and the field we use doesn’t have lights.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Fortunately we were able to get permission to use the city government owned multi-purpose center, which does have lights. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That means we’ll be able to change the time back to 6:30 on Monday.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">I’ve made it to the interview portion for the Regional Coordinator position.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I go in for it on Monday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Tucker is officially bigger than Lila.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>She usually weighs between 10-12lb and he weighs about 16.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There was a notable change between when I left on vacation and when I returned.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>His aunty Julia must have been feeding him well.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I’d guess he is about 4 months old now.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Having a dog again has been really nice.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He needs two walks a day to keep his energy levels in check, otherwise he is unbearable.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But it is good to have something to make sure I don’t lounge around in bed until noon.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>One of the reasons I wasn’t too keen on getting a dog was I was concerned about my little yard getting overwhelmed with poo.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I grew up with 2 large dogs and 1 small one.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They were quite an efficient little poo factory and I wasn’t looking forward to getting back into the business.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But thankfully having one small dog is very manageable, especially since he usually poos when I take him for a walk.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Considering there are cows, goats, stray dogs, chickens, etc using the streets as their latrines, I feel no need to clean up after him and it helps keep my yard clean.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mf8bC_nCiH4/TZ9JOm0HnnI/AAAAAAAAAR4/GBMd2oV96qw/s320/100_0531.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593269777503592050" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></p><div style="text-align: center;">[Tucker! Lila is not a chair!]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Lila is doing well.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>She wasn’t happy about the addition to household, but they have learned live with each other.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Lila doesn’t avoid Tucker and Tucker knows that he’s in deep trouble if he chases her.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Still trying to get him to stop sitting on her.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Oh well, no one is perfect.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">For size comparison purposes:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zq4d6oeSNbQ/TZ9Kj90QRvI/AAAAAAAAASI/IAm6aPUhCK4/s320/100_0520.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593271243967055602" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">[Tucker and Moe sharing 1/2 the bathroom mat. He is just a bit larger than one of the floor tiles]</span></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2JM14areK7o/TZ9JO9xt5qI/AAAAAAAAASA/q24ckqmyA_M/s320/100_0701.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593269783667533474" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">[Tucker taking up most of the bathroom mat]</span></span></span></div>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-23703095349832004912011-03-31T20:33:00.003-04:002011-03-31T20:38:06.664-04:00Back in Campo 9<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; " >One of the best things about Argentina was how nice everyone was to the street dogs. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>In Cordoba in particular the dogs were huge and clearly well fed. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>In Iruya we were adopted by a dog that followed us around. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>In Humahuaca there was an adorable dog in the hostel we named Cooper because <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>it we were watching Anderson Cooper report on the Japan Tsunami. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>In Cordoba we had the deaf dog in the hostel, Jorge’s dog Rulo. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>But everywhere we went the street dogs were nice, would come up to you if you encourage them. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Actually as far a street dogs go, they were quite clean.</span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; " ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; color: black; " > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; color: black; " >It was refreshing. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>That is one thing I will always hate about Paraguay. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>People there treat animals like shit.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; color: black; " ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; color: black; " > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; color: black; " >And speaking of animals, you may wonder what I did with. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Lila stayed at my house and my landlady came by to give her vegetables, oatmeal, and water. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Other than that she just ate the grass in the lawn. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>She doesn’t use the bathroom in the garage ever, so there was no worry about clean up. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; color: black; " ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; color: black; " > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; color: black; " >Tucker went to my neighbor’s house across the street for a couple of days, and then he went to stay with Aunty Julia at her house. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Evidently he was a pain in the ass, poor Julia isn’t quite experienced enough with dogs yet to handle one like him yet. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>But I brought her Alfajores and a scarf to make up for it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; color: black; " ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; color: black; " > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; color: black; " >I missed both of the terribly, especially towards the end of the trip. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>I kept having nightmares about dogs attacking Lila. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; color: black; " ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; color: black; " > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; color: black; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >Fortunately I came home and they were both safe and sound. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>The whole family is together again the house. <span> </span>Home sweet home.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-15746339632406904682011-03-31T20:32:00.002-04:002011-03-31T20:39:49.763-04:00Going Home<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black; mso-ansi-language:EN-US">After bumming around Purmamarca for a while, we caught the bus to Jujuy (pronounced: who who E ) wandered all over the downtown looking for our hostel, got some food, and settled in for the night.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black; mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black; mso-ansi-language:EN-US">We hoped to do a horseback riding excursion the next day, but they turned out to be too expensive. When we arrived in Jujuy I began to realize that Courtney was getting a bit road weary. When we left for Salta the next morning I realized it might be best just to catch the next bus to Paraguay, instead of staying in Salta for the night. We arrived around 2pm, the next bus was a 4:30pm. We bought our tickets and used the two hours to take the gondola ride to the top of a hill offering us lovely views of the city. We hoped the bus after that and were on our way home.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black; mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><br />The bus ride back turned out to be a real pain in the ass actually. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The road between Salta and Resistencia is surprisingly rough, which made it difficult to sleep. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They also decided to play some of the worst movies ever made. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>One was called Yeti. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I think a 14 year old boy wrote and directed it. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It was terribly and nonsensically violent. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I was listening to an audiobook instead of the movie, but it was so amazingly bad the Courtney got my attention and told me I absolutely had to watch it. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>So it did, and it was terrible. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black; mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black; mso-ansi-language:EN-US">To make things even worse the movie started to replay after we watched it the first time. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I gave them a few minutes to notice, or for someone to inform them it was on again, but it continued to play. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I went downstairs and told the bus attendant, who promptly changed it to Forest Warrior, a 1990’s Chuck Norris movie. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Chuck Norris plays a forest sprit who help a group of kids save a mountain from a logging company. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Basically FernGully in live action Chuck Norris style. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It had Chuck in it, ergo it was awesome, or at the very least an improvement upon the previous film.<br /><br /><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black; mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Around midday we stopped for almost three hours because some people were blocking the road doing some sort of protest. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It took them that long to figure out it would be best to just back that bus up and take the 20 minute or so detour around the protesters. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>After we finally got moving we picked up a group of people from what I would guess was a bus that broke down. This meant I finally had to share the seat next to me. This was unfortunate because I realized there was something resembling vomit a little too closely under my seat. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I discovered it after stepping in it with one shoe, putting the shoe up on the seat, resting my leg where my shoe had been, and feeling a wet spot. EWWWWWWWWWWWW. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Thankfully it didn’t smell and I had plenty of tissues to cover it up. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It was far enough back that I could avoid it when I wanted to, which was good because someone decided to sit in the seat next to me when we picked up the extra bus of people.<br /><br /><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black; mso-ansi-language:EN-US">After a long while we got to Clorinda, the city on the other side of the river from Asuncion. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There weren’t any buses that went from Salta all the way to Asuncion. We missed the stop at the bridge to go through customs and ended up at the normal bus terminal. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>So we, and two Swedish girls who were also going to Paraguay that we adopted, took a taxi back to the bridge. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Finally we stamped out of Argentina, stamped back into Paraguay, and caught a van back to the capital.<br /><br /><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black; mso-ansi-language:EN-US">I have to say, it was really nice to be back in the ‘guay. I missed the Guarani. I didn’t miss the dirtyness, but the familiarity of it was nice. I liked being some place I recognized again.<br /><br /><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black; mso-ansi-language:EN-US">That evening Courtney and I went out with the Swedish girls, and the taxi driver tried to charge us 60mil instead of 40mil. Ahh yes, its good to be home.<o:p></o:p></span></p>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-26030493588533973232011-03-31T19:42:00.006-04:002011-03-31T20:32:17.396-04:00Salt Flats and Funny Photos<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y73KPOfrI2g/TZUceYOMVfI/AAAAAAAAARw/oh2kPUastw0/s1600/Gremilin.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><div>We arrived in Purmamarca, when to the first hostel we came to, and went to bed.<span> </span>In the morning we took a van to the salt flats an hour outside of the town.<span> </span>We proceeded to take advantage of the very flat landscape and took dozens of silly photos.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-umpvd1EqkBc/TZUVq3maCRI/AAAAAAAAAQo/KDNLcqiA8HM/s1600/100_0664.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-umpvd1EqkBc/TZUVq3maCRI/AAAAAAAAAQo/KDNLcqiA8HM/s320/100_0664.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590398338674067730" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a>[They cut holes in the salt so the water drains in to the holes and leaves the rest of the flat dry enough for us to be goofballs on. Proceeding with the goofballery]</div><div><br /></div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-04AgzvJ8lGg/TZUVrgogStI/AAAAAAAAARI/5h4ixYX8S_0/s1600/100_0682.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 205px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-04AgzvJ8lGg/TZUVrgogStI/AAAAAAAAARI/5h4ixYX8S_0/s320/100_0682.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590398349688720082" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Thkn-7ZHiBE/TZUVrmEydZI/AAAAAAAAARA/Cttwi94ykzg/s1600/100_0681.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Thkn-7ZHiBE/TZUVrmEydZI/AAAAAAAAARA/Cttwi94ykzg/s320/100_0681.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590398351149528466" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pL__LkDcX1Q/TZUVrUdwepI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/RTmdQ49acKY/s1600/100_0676.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pL__LkDcX1Q/TZUVrUdwepI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/RTmdQ49acKY/s320/100_0676.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590398346422418066" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N98xf3bINyg/TZUVrP6VBHI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Qqy_yYHQ_q8/s1600/100_0671.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N98xf3bINyg/TZUVrP6VBHI/AAAAAAAAAQw/Qqy_yYHQ_q8/s320/100_0671.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590398345200075890" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p_8UMdY_3Zs/TZUceEFD8cI/AAAAAAAAARo/6fjXTICgPKI/s1600/100_0686.JPG" style="line-height: normal; " onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p_8UMdY_3Zs/TZUceEFD8cI/AAAAAAAAARo/6fjXTICgPKI/s320/100_0686.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590405815266963906" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fmi-3l2ZRU4/TZUceH1J8fI/AAAAAAAAARg/twZjv1jbgMg/s1600/100_0685.JPG" style="line-height: normal; " onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fmi-3l2ZRU4/TZUceH1J8fI/AAAAAAAAARg/twZjv1jbgMg/s320/100_0685.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590405816273990130" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sNpDsTL106k/TZUcd6lJ-QI/AAAAAAAAARY/XKYMporo8q0/s1600/100_0684.JPG" style="line-height: normal; " onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sNpDsTL106k/TZUcd6lJ-QI/AAAAAAAAARY/XKYMporo8q0/s320/100_0684.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590405812717222146" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-os4_WQhvIXI/TZUcdYOO7XI/AAAAAAAAARQ/4OYrx1pxiu8/s1600/100_0683.JPG" style="line-height: normal; " onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-os4_WQhvIXI/TZUcdYOO7XI/AAAAAAAAARQ/4OYrx1pxiu8/s320/100_0683.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590405803494272370" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></p><div><br /></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black; mso-ansi-language:EN-US"><br />Most people go to Bolivia to see salt flats, the largest in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>However, after seeing the ones in Purmamarca, I think I can confidently check ‘visiting salt flats’ off my list of things to do in South America.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There were very interesting, but the one hour that we spent there was sufficient.<o:p></o:p></span></p>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-57836289827751646072011-03-26T20:18:00.011-04:002011-03-26T22:49:07.013-04:00Argentina Part 3: Jolley Good Wong Graber<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rYZDFhVew-M/TY6NXkrjhuI/AAAAAAAAAQg/dOWHqrn2OSQ/s1600/193294_10100144386749653_6204653_52114345_1275807_o.jpg"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jC6-56bJ9vk/TY6NWVHU95I/AAAAAAAAAQI/0DG56pvPBJM/s1600/191874_10100144384504153_6204653_52114323_3280259_o.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jC6-56bJ9vk/TY6NWVHU95I/AAAAAAAAAQI/0DG56pvPBJM/s320/191874_10100144384504153_6204653_52114323_3280259_o.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588559602377881490" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">[The boys horsing around in Iruya]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After a few days, our volunteer coordinator Courtney Wong joined us in Cordoba to form Team Jolley Good Wong Graber. Me, Kevin Good, Zach Graber, and Courtney Wong. And yes, the name was my idea. How sad would it have been if we had had someone with a normal name. I think that may be a new travel guideline: Must have fun name.</div><div><br /></div><div>Team Good Graber when to the Salta region on Saturday, while team Jolley Wong stayed a bit longer in Cordoba, since Courtney arrived a little late.<br /><br />After riding in the coldest bus on the planet, Courtney and I arrived in Salta and caught a bus to Humahuaca to meet up with the boys. Or so we thought. After receiving some of the most incomprehensible text speak messages from Kevin we finally realized they were in Iruya, a town 4 hours farther north of Humahuaca. Unfortunately by the time we arrived, there were no more buses to Iruya until the next morning. Fortunately Humahuaca is a lovely little town. </div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wu9SjS_xJ78/TY6FY8FnhkI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/vVLhjV3G4Ow/s320/195142_10100144349404493_6204653_52114005_2829475_o.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588550851106408002" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">[Humahuaca]</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div>I was struck by the fact I could understand people’s Spanish again! It was also amazing at how nice everyone way. People in Cordoba were not particularly friendly, but here everyone said hello to us on the street, locals and tourists alike. Everyone was so pleasant.<br /><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6vQ27IGCOzc/TY6GbQhlD7I/AAAAAAAAAPY/kKzzIkE_MRE/s320/194046_10100144356385503_6204653_52114033_941624_o.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588551990463762354" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">[Humahuaca]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "></span>Courtney and I caught the 8:30 am bus to Iruya the next morning. I realized as I got onto the bus I had left my travel blanket back at the hostel and asked the driver if I had enough time to go and get it. At first he said no, but a few minutes later he indicated I could go get it if I hurried. I heard a collective groan from the other passengers to which I gave them a mental ‘fuck all yall, I want my blanket’. I ran 2 blocks to the hostel, found the blanket, and was back in less than 5 minutes. The bus attendant hadn’t even started checking peoples’ tickets yet. So there.</div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rYZDFhVew-M/TY6NXkrjhuI/AAAAAAAAAQg/dOWHqrn2OSQ/s1600/193294_10100144386749653_6204653_52114345_1275807_o.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rYZDFhVew-M/TY6NXkrjhuI/AAAAAAAAAQg/dOWHqrn2OSQ/s320/193294_10100144386749653_6204653_52114345_1275807_o.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588559623736231650" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center; ">[Iruya]</div><div style="text-align: center; "><br /></div></div>Through our deciphering of Kevin’s texts, we gathered that he and Zach though Iruya was one of the most beautiful places they had seen. At first I was skeptical; the geography strongly resembled Big Bend Park in. However slowly but surely I saw what they saw. As we came closer and closer to Iruya, an astoundingly beautiful, cloud covered valley. Honestly, that view alone was worth the 8 hours of travel.<br /><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center; "><br /></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wu9SjS_xJ78/TY6FY8FnhkI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/vVLhjV3G4Ow/s1600/195142_10100144349404493_6204653_52114005_2829475_o.jpg"></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vGisHkq9lqo/TY6EghREwCI/AAAAAAAAAPI/hdwFBX8s_iI/s1600/190947_10100144378456273_6204653_52114268_420672_o.jpg"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vGisHkq9lqo/TY6EghREwCI/AAAAAAAAAPI/hdwFBX8s_iI/s320/190947_10100144378456273_6204653_52114268_420672_o.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588549881834029090" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center; ">[Jolley Good Wong Graber in Iruya]</div><div style="text-align: center; "><br /></div>We arrived in Iruya and Team Jolley Good Wong Graber was reunited. I got off the bus and immediately noticed the boys had gotten quite a bit of sun since we left them in Cordoba. Courtney noticed as well. It must have triggered our motherly side because we couldn’t help but asking if they had been wearing sunscreen, did they have sunscreen, did they want to borrow sunscreen. They didn’t seem to believe us that they had gotten quite so sun kissed, but I assure you the Paraguayans will comment when they go home.</div><div><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dj9pm9AkWSc/TY6NWksNaeI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/kbGfkcXkDlY/s1600/192006_10100144381235703_6204653_52114294_6709608_o.jpg"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dj9pm9AkWSc/TY6NWksNaeI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/kbGfkcXkDlY/s320/192006_10100144381235703_6204653_52114294_6709608_o.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588559606559107554" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center;">[The gals horsing around Iruya]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jC6-56bJ9vk/TY6NWVHU95I/AAAAAAAAAQI/0DG56pvPBJM/s1600/191874_10100144384504153_6204653_52114323_3280259_o.jpg"></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jC6-56bJ9vk/TY6NWVHU95I/AAAAAAAAAQI/0DG56pvPBJM/s1600/191874_10100144384504153_6204653_52114323_3280259_o.jpg"></a>We only spent a few hours with the boys before they caught a bus back to Salta. Courtney and I did some exploring, though not much hiking. The altitude was getting to me and I'm out of shape for vertical walking. Give me a flat road and I'll walk all day, put a bit of an incline and I'm a goner. That evening we cooked up some tasty stir-fry, chatted with the owners of the hostel, and marveled at the clouds rolling into the valley.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4A2L--lxdH8/TY6NXM5oXyI/AAAAAAAAAQY/egaJqFbxKq4/s1600/192006_10100144381255663_6204653_52114297_5452929_o.jpg"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4A2L--lxdH8/TY6NXM5oXyI/AAAAAAAAAQY/egaJqFbxKq4/s320/192006_10100144381255663_6204653_52114297_5452929_o.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588559617352818466" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">[Iruya]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4A2L--lxdH8/TY6NXM5oXyI/AAAAAAAAAQY/egaJqFbxKq4/s1600/192006_10100144381255663_6204653_52114297_5452929_o.jpg"></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4A2L--lxdH8/TY6NXM5oXyI/AAAAAAAAAQY/egaJqFbxKq4/s1600/192006_10100144381255663_6204653_52114297_5452929_o.jpg"></a>The next morning we resolved to get up early and go for a hike, but the valley was still enveloped in a snuggie of fog. We abandoned those plans and slept in. I did a bit more walking around the next day as we waited for bus back to Humahuaca and then Purmamarca for the night. As we left Iruya, a storm rolled in from the south and the bus with hit by a short hail storm. Thankfully things cleared up for the rest of the day.</div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4A2L--lxdH8/TY6NXM5oXyI/AAAAAAAAAQY/egaJqFbxKq4/s1600/192006_10100144381255663_6204653_52114297_5452929_o.jpg"></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4A2L--lxdH8/TY6NXM5oXyI/AAAAAAAAAQY/egaJqFbxKq4/s1600/192006_10100144381255663_6204653_52114297_5452929_o.jpg"></a></div>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5525835216270063915.post-48462801828056446162011-03-26T19:58:00.001-04:002011-03-26T20:13:03.814-04:00Argentina Part 2: Cordoba-I still speak Spanish right?<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LxOBxMSzvy0/TY5_apJLFMI/AAAAAAAAAOY/3CnCXaG5Rhg/s1600/192272_10100144344843633_6204653_52113947_8088208_o.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LxOBxMSzvy0/TY5_apJLFMI/AAAAAAAAAOY/3CnCXaG5Rhg/s320/192272_10100144344843633_6204653_52113947_8088208_o.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588544283311019202" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">[Zening it up at the art museum]</div>Upon arriving in Cordoba, Kevin immediately pissed off a baggage handler by removing his pack by himself from the luggage area under the bus because it was blocking the rest of the luggage. I had done the same thing moments earlier but because my pack was a bit lighter and the handler’s back was turned, I accomplished the task without him noticing. The baggage handler yelled at Kevin while I quietly tiptoed behind another bus.<div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aQaEHytjEj0/TY5_bWMab5I/AAAAAAAAAOw/XG30wDtgu0A/s320/192272_10100144344848623_6204653_52113948_6994844_o.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588544295404203922" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">[Cordoba]</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "></span>We decided to find a hostel to drop off our stuff. I’ve hosted several couch surfers lately so I was hoping to be able to use the site myself during this trip, but the hosts never came through, which was very disappointing, so we stayed in a hostel the entire time. Fortunately the hostel was about USD$9 a night, so it is not like we were breaking the bank.<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2ZOj7orDR1I/TY5_a6yQLRI/AAAAAAAAAOg/Qm5xSynkNuQ/s320/192272_10100144344833653_6204653_52113946_7464020_o.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588544288046722322" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></span><div><div style="text-align: center;">[Church]</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "></span>I noticed several things.<br />1) The city was incredible clean. The first day or two I would find myself looking at the sidewalks as we walked, memorized by the lack of trash.<br />2) Cordobian accents made me question my ability to speak Spanish. I kid you not; I had no idea what those people were saying half of the time.<br />3) Cordobians are not nearly as friendly as Paraguayans<br />4) People don’t try to cheat you at the bus terminals. Everyone pays the same price.<br />5) Cordobians, especially in the downtown area are very well dressed, and the women are very skinny.<br />6) I love smoothies. Almost every little café and restaurant served smoothies and they were delicious.<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yBw17GZ-0BM/TY5_bIawW-I/AAAAAAAAAOo/IhMjxmOBVJI/s320/191192_10100144346784743_6204653_52113973_5815608_o.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588544291706264546" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "></span>Highlights<br />• Artisan fair<br />• Being in a clean city were things work like they’re supposed to<br />• Meeting Kevin’s sister and hanging out with her host family, Jorge and company<br />• Finding a bank that would change guaranies into pesos<br />• Cooking jambalaya and risotto in the hostel<br />• Adorable deaf puppy at the hostel<br />• Awesome art museum<div>• Zoo</div></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-11XttrGxuSM/TY6Az7KoQqI/AAAAAAAAAO4/0fSMUcwHHes/s320/191192_10100144346789733_6204653_52113974_7755842_o.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588545817157321378" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">[Baby Hippo at the Zoo]</span></div>L Jolleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06549557366562603722noreply@blogger.com0